User interface for semi-fungible trading

ABSTRACT

A user interface and method are disclosed for providing trading between a plurality of semi-fungible and non-fungible goods. A plurality of book axes are displayed in a single interface, each book axis representing a market for a particular good Orders for goods are displayed as marks on the axes to display the relative value of the orders. A value axis is provided that relates the value of the goods from each market to each other. Thus, a single interface provides the means to relate the values of different semi-fungible goods. The value axis may be displayed in units of price, or a custom value designated by a user or pre-defined by the interface. Quantity information is represented in the interface through the display of a dimension of an order icon. Precise information about each order is displayed either in a panel view or a pop-up window.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) fromprovisional patent application 60/151,468, entitled “Semi-FungibleScreen Views,” filed Aug. 30, 1999, and is a continuation-in-partapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/289,550, “UserInterface for an Electronic Trading System,” filed Apr. 9, 1999, both ofwhich are incorporated by reference, herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of graphical userinterfaces and more particularly to the field of graphical userinterfaces for electronic trading systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fungible products are products which are interchangeable. For example,one share of Company A may be traded interchangeably with another shareof Company A. The traders do not care which share they have because theshares are identical in every aspect. Thus, the shares are fungible.Gold, silver, corn, and soybeans are all examples of fungible goods thatare commonly traded on different exchanges. Another class of productsthat are traded are called semi-fungible. Semi-fungible products aregoods that have very similar qualities but are not identical. Forexample, a call stock option with a strike price of $10.00 for Company Ais very similar to a call stock option with a strike price of $20.00 forCompany A. Both are options for Company A, and therefore both have avalue based on Company A. However, they are not interchangeable becauseone may be exercised at $10.00 per share and one may be exercised at$20.00 per share. Thus, they have different values, and therefore wouldnot be traded for each other on an equal basis. For example, a traderwith 10 contracts of the $10.00 strike call option may sell thosecontracts for one value and sell 10 contracts of the $20.00 strike calloption at a different, lower, value; the $10.00 strike call option ismore valuable than the $20.00 strike call option.

Trading semi-fungible goods is therefore more difficult than trading infungible goods because of the difference in values between thesemi-fungible goods. Thus, the trader must always track the relativedifference in values when trading semi-fungible goods. In the simplifiedexample described above, the trader must be aware that the trader shouldpay more to buy a $20.00 strike call option than the trader should payto buy a $10.00 strike call option. However, the goods aresemi-fungible, and therefore in the option example, global informationabout the company can affect all of the different option contracts.Thus, a trader may devote more resources into all series of call optionsbecause of a positive piece of news about the company. Alternatively, apiece of news about a company may influence a trader to buy options witha 30-day expiration date but sell options with a 12-month expirationdate. Thus, a trader trading in semi-fungible goods takes advantage ofcommonality of the contracts but must be aware of the differences in thecontracts. Tracking the relative difference in value for semi-fungiblegoods while executing real-time transactions is very difficult, but isextremely important to a successful trader.

In conventional schemes for providing semi-fungible good information, atrader would have to rely on a spreadsheet listing the bids and offersand associated prices for one semi-fungible good. Then, if the traderwas tracking related semi-fungible goods, the trader must display on thesame computer screen a second spreadsheet showing the same informationfor a different semi-fungible good. If the trader was trading thirty orforty or a hundred goods, as is common in the industry, the trader wouldfind it difficult to track the activity associated with the differentrelated semi-fungible goods. Moreover, the trader would have no contextto relate the different prices for one semi-fungible good to another.

For example, a trader may be trading Company A options having a strikeprice of $10.00 and an expiration date of Jan. 1, 2001 (Option A). Thecurrent offer for Option A may be at $15.00, and therefore the tradermay decide to buy when the offer is at $11.00. The trader may also betrading Company A options having a strike price of $10.00 that expireMay 1, 2001 (Option B). The offer for that series may be at $20.00 andthe trader may want to buy Option B contracts when the offer is at$15.00. The trader may have fifty more option types that the trader isinterested in buying, and for each one, the trader must remember thevalue of the offer and at which action point the trader will buy orsell. Even though the option types are very similar, the values and isthe action points may be very different. If global information affectingCompany A is received, for example, lower than expected sales, then thetrader must adjust his action points for all of the different optiontypes, and the adjustment most likely will not be uniform. The optionshaving a longer expiration may be minimally affected, and the onesexpiring very soon may be substantially affected by the news. Thus, thetrader must maintain and adjust all of that information quickly andefficiently, which is extremely difficult to accomplish in conventionalmethods.

In the above-referenced patent application “User Interfaces forElectronic Trading,” a method of enabling electronic trading isdescribed that provides a user interface that displays on one screen allof the outstanding offers and bids for one product. This system providesan easy interface that allows traders to track bids and offers anddecision points related to different goods. However, a system is neededthat can provide ease and efficiency for trading in semi-fungible goods,that can enable a trader to view at a glance the difference in valuesamong related semi-fungible goods or multiple non-fungible goods, andmake trading decisions quickly and efficiently.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is a user interface for an electronic tradingsystem that enables the efficient and effective trading of semi-fungiblegoods. In a preferred embodiment, the user interface displaysinformation regarding a plurality of semi-fungible goods on a singlescreen to allow a trader to view markets for the different semi-fungiblegoods simultaneously. In one embodiment, the interface displays a seriesof vertical or horizontal lines (straight or curved), where each linerepresents a book for a single semi-fungible good. Then, in accordancewith the present invention, the interface displays visual indicators ofthe bids and/or offers for the good such as icons or hatchmarks on theline. Thus, on a single line, a trader can view the outstanding offersand bids for a semi-fungible good. Then, adjacent the line is at leastone other line representing a semi-fungible good. The trader can viewboth lines and the visual indicators on the lines and track the marketsfor the two semi-fungible goods at the same time, allowing the trader totrade in semi-fungible goods efficiently. However, in accordance withthe present invention, the interface may display any number of book axessimultaneously, depending upon a user's preferences. In accordance withone embodiment of the present invention, a trader can place an offer orbid for any displayed semi-fungible good book axis merely by draggingand dropping a bid or offer icon onto the relevant book axis at adesired price or value. In a further embodiment, the trader can selectone of the displayed book axes to create a enlarged version of the bookaxis illustrating more detail. The enlarged version displays bid andoffer information and can provide additional functionality, such asproviding cumulative totals of quantities being bid or offered, orgenerating an average price for different bids and offers.

In one embodiment, the semi-fungible goods are normalized using a commonvalue. The value is preferably computed by an algorithm or other ruleselected by the trader as a basis for comparing the semi-fungible goods.For example, for options, the common value may be implied volatility. Inthis example, the scale used for the axis to which the markets arecorrelated would be in units of implied volatility, and all of themarkets displayed would also be displayed in units of impliedvolatility. Thus, in contrast to conventional systems, in the presentinvention a trader can view multiple markets for semi-fungible goods andquickly determine their relative values merely by analyzing thegraphical placement of the bids and offers. In conventional systems, asdiscussed above, a trader would have to mentally track relative value,or compare different spreadsheets, or perform other manipulations tounderstand how differences in prices for different semi-fungible goodstranslated into relative values of those goods. In addition, theinterface of the present invention allows for dynamic updating of therelative value information as the interface automatically computeschanging prices or other factors into a relative value metric anddisplays the results on the value axes of the different goods. Todetermine the actual price of a good, in one embodiment, the tradermerely selects a price display option to have the price revealed orrests the cursor over an axis or bid or offer icon and views a flip-uptext box with price information.

In a preferred embodiment, the use of a value axis and the display of aplurality of goods enables a trader to view the spreads between bids andoffers (collectively “markets”) for different goods. The spreadinformation allows the trader to quickly view what the current buying orselling price is and provides information on the liquidity and depth ofthe markets. In this embodiment, the spread is displayed in a differentcolor to allow the trader to more easily view the activity in themarkets.

In a further embodiment, the geometric dimensions of the visualindicators representing bids and offers indicate the quantity of theorders. Thus, for a vertical axis, the width of a visual indicatorrepresents the quantity of the order. The quantity values and associateddimensions (e.g. length, width, area) are determined on a relativescale, to allow the display of a plurality of semi-fungible goods. Forexample, if one semi-fungible good has orders in quantities of 5, 10,and 15, the order for 15 will have a visual indicator that is threetimes as large as the order for 5. However, if this axis is alongside anaxis that has orders in quantities of 100, 200 and 300, the 300 orderwill also have a visual indicator that is three times as large as theorder for 100 and will be the same physical length as the order for 15on the fist axis. This allows the trader to quickly determine therelative quantities of orders along one axis, but still enables thedisplay of a multiple of axes. If an absolute scale were used, forexample, a single display may not be able to display the second axis,having orders in the hundreds and the first axis, that has orders in thetens, as the length of the visual indicators in the second axis wouldoccupy most of the display space. In a further embodiment, the userassigns a value for the maximum width of a visual indicator, and allorders of the assigned value and above would appear as the maximumwidth. In this instance, all orders less than the assigned value wouldbe represented by proportional hatchmarks. This set value can be apercentile level for all orders in any given book axis and a constantlevel can be set across all book axes. This prevents orders of quantitysignificantly higher than the average across all orders in the book axisfrom overly biasing the scale.

In a further embodiment, an action line is provided to enable a traderto immediately be aware when the value or price of a good has approacheda value that the trader has determined is appropriate to take an action,i.e., buy or sell. In an embodiment in which the semi-fungible goods aredisplayed with axes having the same units, the action line may be astraight line that represents a value common to all semi-fungible goods.For example, if the axes are displayed in units of implied volatility,the action line may be displayed as a straight line having an impliedvolatility of 10. This indicates that regardless of the particularoption, the trader would prefer to buy options below the action line,i.e. with implied volatility below 10, and sell options above the actionline, i.e. with implied volatility above 10. The use of an action linefurther enables a trader to trade efficiently and effectively insemi-fungible goods.

In another embodiment of the invention, an array of filter boxes aredisplayed which, when highlighted, allow the trader to differentiatebetween semi-fungible orders based on parameters unique to given ordersor order books. In a preferred embodiment, the trader can specify that afilter box be highlighted for all order books where the lowest (the“best”) offer is for more than a given number of contracts. In anotherembodiment, all order books where a given trader has entered an orderwill be highlighted. A trader may use this feature to locate orders ofother traders with which the trader has a line of credit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the electronictrading system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the transactionmanager of the present invention.

FIGS. 3 a-3 c are screen shots illustrating an embodiment of a PriorityView in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 d illustrates a buy order pop-up window.

FIG. 3 e illustrates a sell order pop-up window.

FIG. 4 is a screen shot illustrating an embodiment of a Value/QuantityView in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment of a methodof displaying bid and offer icons in accordance with the presentinvention

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment of a methodof generating a bid order icon in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment of a methodof generating a offer order icon in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an alternate embodiment ofgenerating an order icon.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot illustrating a Pit Panel view in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment ofgenerating and placing a trader icon in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot illustrating a communication window inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a screen shot illustrating a preferred embodiment of a userinterface for trading semi-fungible goods.

FIG. 13 is a screen shot illustrating am alternate embodiment of a userinterface for trading semi-fungible goods.

FIG. 14 is a screen shot illustrating an embodiment of an order entrybox in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a screen shot of an order entry box with a summing functionin accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates the electronic trading system in accordance with thepresent invention. Client terminals 104 are coupled to a transactionmanager 100. The client terminals 104 are personal computers, terminalsas part of a network, or any other computing device. Traders use theclient terminals 104 to interact with trading pits that are managed bythe transaction manager 100. The transaction manager 100 managestransaction requests generated by the client terminals 104, routesinformation to, from, and between the terminals 104 and the transactionmanager 100, and stores and retrieves information from a database 108 ordatabases 108.

FIG. 2 illustrates a more specific embodiment of the transaction manager100. The clients 104 are coupled to log-in manager 204 to provide toeach client access to the transaction manager 100, and to allow eachclient 104 to designate one or more trading pits 220 to which to beconnected. The transaction manager 100 hosts one or more transactionprocessors 200. Each transaction processor 200 is responsible for thetrading of a specified item, essentially supporting a specific tradingpit. The summary information agents 224 for each transaction processor220 provide a current status of the activity of each pit 220 to a traderconnected to the log-in manager 204. The trader can select a pit 220 towhich to be connected based upon the summary information. Once thelog-in process is complete, the clients 104 are coupled to aregistration server 212 for the specified trading pit 220. Registrationfor each pit 220 requires the client 104 to provide an access key thatit received from the login manager 204 during log in.

After registering for a pit 220, the trader is able to add, modify ordelete orders for the item being traded in the trading pit 220. One typeof an order called a “bid” is an order to buy up to a specific quantityof an item at or below a specific value. Another type of an order calledan “offer” is an order to sell up to a specific quantity of an item ator above a specific value. Other types of orders are possible dependingon the type of item being traded in the trading pit 220.

Each pit 220 includes a transaction server 200. The transaction server200 receives orders, matches bids and offers (when a bid and offer arematched it is called a trade or execution) and routes information toboth the database 208 and the client terminals 104 connected to thetrading pit 220. The client terminals 104 generate icons for bid andoffer orders (called bid and offer icons), historical charts and tradericons, and determine the placement of bid and offer icons and tradericons responsive to the information received from the transaction server200. The database 208 to which the transaction server 220 is coupledstores the information corresponding to each trader, information onevery order submitted over a period (such as start of trading days),information on every trade over a period (such as last 180 days) and theinformation corresponding to the item being traded. Each trader may haveinformation associated with the trader's account stored, including aname, e-mail account, address, phone number, personal value quantifyingmetric or analytic activity level history, and various other informationwhich is unique to the individual trader and which may be used by thepresent invention to create a virtual trading environment.

The information corresponding to every order includes whether the orderwas a new order, modifications to an existing order or deletion of apreviously submitted order, the type of order (for example, bid oroffer), the value, the quantity, the time and date the order wassubmitted, and any other information specific to the order. Theinformation corresponding to every trade includes the value, quantity,buyer and seller. The information corresponding to the item being tradedincludes the highest outstanding bid value and the lowest outstandingoffer value for the item, as well as a list of the values of all openorders for the item. The item information is stored on the database 208in a data structure such as an order table. The server 200 updates theinformation in the order table responsive to receiving information fromthe client terminals 104. The updated information is then transmittedback to the client terminals 104. Other information, such as informationused in creating historical charts, may also be stored on database 208.Information which may be global to more than one pit 220, for example,trader personal information, is also stored on the system database 108,to allow the information to be accessed by each trading pit 220.

For traders registered to the same trading pit 220, all of their orders(i.e. bids or offers specifying a value and quantity) are transmitted tothe transaction server 200 for that pit 220. The server 200 analyzes theorders for matches with outstanding, or open, orders. If there is amatch between orders of different types, for example, between a bid andan offer, then a transaction is enacted and the client terminals 104 arenotified to remove the matched icons. All outstanding orders aretransmitted to each client terminal, allowing a trader to view all ofthe outstanding orders from all traders for an item on a trading pit atany given time. The client displays are updated continuously or atspecific intervals to provide updated information regarding which ordersare outstanding and the state of the market in the pit 220. As shown inFIG. 2, multiple trading pits 220 are provided in the electronic tradingsystem, and a single trader may be connected to as many pits 220 at thesame time as desired. The number of trading pits 220 which may bemaintained in accordance with the present invention is scalableresponsive to the number of servers which are provided in the system.The items of trade include any possible commodity, for example,minerals, futures, or shares in a corporation. Other networkconfigurations can be used to implement the electronic trading system asis known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The client terminals 104 provide the interactive link between thetraders and the trading pits 220, and display the various userinterfaces of the present invention. FIG. 3 a illustrates a priorityview 312 which is designed to allow traders to intuitively place orders300, 304 and view markers 336 representing value quantifying metrics,and contextual trend data 316 in accordance with the present invention.In the priority view embodiment, orders 300, 304 are displayed at alocation corresponding to their value with respect to the value axis332. Values may represent price, interest rate, or any other metric bywhich an item may be valued. For example, offer 304(1) has a value of$28.45, and the lowest point of the bottom edge 308 of the icon 304(1)is aligned with the value 28.45 on the value axis 332. In thisembodiment, the top edges 309 of the bids and bottom edges 308 of theoffer icons are angled. The rightmost bid is the bid having the highestvalue, and the rightmost offer is the offer having the lowest value.This allows the edges 308, 309 of the icons 300, 304 to form a trianglewhich points to the separation in value between the last lowest offerand the last highest bid. The quantity of each order is represented by asize of the icon such as its length or height. Icons having a largersize represent orders having a greater quantity. The specific quantityand other information of an order displayed on the screen may be knownby selecting that order, which invokes a pop-up window to display theprecise value and quantity of the selected order. In an alternateembodiment, the specific order information is displayed in the ordertask bar 328, in response to a trader selecting a bid or offer iconprovided the order was submitted by the trader selecting the order.Alternatively, if space permits, the quantity and value may displayed inthe icon itself.

If there are several orders with equal value, the orders are stacked orplaced adjacent to each other responsive to the time at which the orderwas placed. For example, bids 300(5), 300(6), 300(7) have equal valuesat $29.50. Therefore, all three bid icons 300 are vertically stacked. Apreferred method of stacking places the oldest orders closest to thehorizontal space which naturally occurs and separates the bids and theoffers. The horizontal separation between the bids and the offers occursnaturally because all of the bids displayed are always at a lower valuethen the displayed offers. If a bid is placed at a value equal to orexceeding an offer value, a transaction will be made immediately and theicons removed. For example, in the stack containing orders 300(7),300(6), and 300(5) in FIG. 3 a, the first and therefore the oldest bidin time was 300(7), and is placed at the top of the stack, closest tothe horizontal separation between the displayed bids and offers. Theother two stacked bids 300(6), 300(5) are positioned below the oldestbid 300(7), corresponding to the time at which they were submitted, andsorted in order of oldest to newest. In the stack containing offers304(2), 304(3), and 304(4), the oldest offer 304(2) is positioned on thebottom of the stack closest to the horizontal separation, and the newestoffer 304(4) is positioned on the top of the stack. The above method ofordering bids and offers is a preferred method, however other orderingschemes could be used within the scope of the present invention.

The trader using the client terminal 104 in accordance with the presentinvention, is shown all of the outstanding orders 300, 304 for the itembeing traded. This is one significant difference between the presentinvention and conventional systems because a trader using a system inaccordance with the present invention is able to view trends in the bidsand offers in addition to the buying and selling of the item beingtraded. For example, in FIG. 3 a, a trader can quickly analyze theoutstanding orders 300, 304, and determine that there are an almostequal number of bids 300(8) as offers (9). Thus, the trader may inferthat the market is stable, and the value for the item will not bedramatically driven up or down in the near future. Accordingly, thetrader may decide to take no action. However, as shown in FIG. 3 b, ifdemand builds through an increased number of bids being made, as shownby the display of an increased number of bid icons 300, or bids arebeing made for large quantities, as shown by the display of bid icons300 having a greater size, and if supply recedes as indicated by thedisplay of a reduced number of offers icons 304, the trader cananticipate that the value for the item will increase. Consequently, thetrader will place bids for the currently low valued offers 304. Thus, byviewing all outstanding offer icons 304 and bid icons 300 as they aremade on an item, the trader can anticipate the market and quickly adjusthis or her trading plans to take advantage of the information. Incontrast, in conventional systems, the trader only knows the lasthighest bid and the last highest offer. In the example of FIG. 3 a, thetrader would only know the existence of bid 300(9) and offer 304(1).Only the market maker would know of the existence of the other bids andoffers. Individual traders would therefore be unaware of trends inbidding, and experience greater difficulty in anticipating the market.

The trader can also view the gap between offer icons 304 and bid icons300 to determine at what value sales may be made and for what quantity.In the example of FIG. 3 a, the trader can determine that there areseveral bids 300(5), 300(6), 300(7), at a value slightly less than$27.35. Therefore, if the trader has a number of items to sell, thetrader can make offers at that value and be assured of a sale of all ofhis or her items. However, if this value is too low, the trader canchoose to keep all of his items until the value of the item has risen,which would be reflected in the display of additional bid icons at ahigher value position in the screen. In contrast, if a trader was usinga conventional system, the trader would have to offer his itemsincrementally, without knowing in advance when sales are likely to bemade.

The value axis 332 indicates the value at which an item is being traded.This value may represent different qualitative measures for an item,such as the raw price for the item; for bonds, the value could be thecost for the bond or the implied interest rate for the bond, or thevalue be used as a measure for an implied volatility of the item, forexample, a generic measurement of the relative expense of an option.Each trader can use their own value scale. For example, one trader mayuse a bond cost as an axis of values and another may use the impliedinterest rate of the bond. Regardless of a trader's choice of value, thedifferent orders are displayed on the trader's screen in terms of thevalue the trader is chosen. Additionally, the value scales arecompletely customizable. For example, a gold arbitrageur could create ascale that measures the difference between the futures price of themetal less the spot cash price of the metal. The arbitrageur could thenapply the cost of carry, including insurance and storage, to thefuture/cash price difference to generate an implied interest rate forthe gold. Thus, the value axis for the arbitrageur would be an interestrate. In another example a trader who is interested in trading soybeanoil could buy and sell soybeans, but, by using a value axis whichaccounts for the current cost of crushing soybeans, storage of soybeans,transport, etc, can be actually trading in soybean oil. Thus differenttraders in the same trading pit 220 would see the same bid and offersbut organized with respect to their own specific value axis. Thus, thepresent invention provides enormous flexibility in constructing a viewof an item's value which is directly representative of the trader's owninterest in the item.

The priority view 312 offers several other advantages to a trader. Theoffers 304 and the bids 300 are displayed in different colors, shapes,textures or sizes, or other distinguishing visual characteristics, toallow the trader to quickly ascertain the current state of the marketfor this item. Additionally, orders made by the trader are displayedhaving a different visual characteristic than the visual characteristicused to display orders of other traders. This allows the trader toeasily distinguish between their own orders and the orders of othertraders. For example, in FIG. 3 a, the trader is able to immediatelydetermine that offers 304(3) and 304(7) are the trader's own offers 304,and therefore should be discounted from any market analysis. In FIG. 3a, the trader can also quickly determine that the trader himself is thetrader with the most bids 300 in place, which suggests to the traderthat the value for the item may be driven down if the trader removes hisbids 300 from the pit 220.

Orders can be placed by a trader using the user interface of the presentinvention in variety of ways. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 a,the trader can directly submit an order by using the order task bar 328.The options to specify value and quantity of either a bid or offer, andthe expiration period are provided. After the information is entered,the trader selects Place Order, and the order is submitted to thetransaction server 200 for the pit 220, and an offer or bid icon 304,300 is generated and displayed at the desired location at the desiredsize. The order information is communicated to the transaction server200 and from there to the other client terminals, so that the newbid/offer appears in the displays of all other traders in this same pit.In a preferred embodiment, the trader submits an order by simplyselecting either an offer token 324 or bid token 320 using a pointingdevice. After being selected, the trader adjusts the size of the offeror bid token 324, 320 until the size of the token matches the desiredquantity of the order. Preferably, a pop-up window or other screenindicator is displayed to show in numerical terms the quantity of thecurrent size of the token, to ease the process of creating a properlysized order token. Next, the token is dragged to a location on thescreen which corresponds to the desired value of the order. Again, ascreen indicator displays the current value for the token at its currentlocation as it is being dragged to allow precise placement of the tokenat the desired value.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3 a, a value marker 344 follows bid token 320as it is moved to a location in the display. The value marker 344indicates the value of the new order as the order is being placed. Thisallows for the trader to easily and precisely move the token 320, 324 tothe desired value. After reaching the desired value, the trader releasesthe pointing device button and a Buy pop-up window 350, as shown in FIG.3 d, is displayed with the bid order information. The Buy pop-up window350 allows the trader to modify the order information (value, quantity,expiration), cancel the order or submit the order with the presentlydisplayed information. If the order is to sell an item, a Sell pop-upwindow 354 is displayed, as shown in FIG. 3 e. After the order issubmitted to the transaction server, it will be displayed on the screensof all traders in this trading pit connected to the transaction server200.

An additional feature of the user interface of the present invention isthe provision of contextual data Contextual data comprises historicaltrading data of the item, historical or current trading data of otheritems, historical or current trading data of an average of items. Forexample, the trader may wish to have the Dow Jones Average™ displayed onthe screen, and updated in realtime. Viewing contextual data along withthe outstanding offers and bids allows the trader to better anticipatethe market. For example, if the Dow Jones™ average is used as thecontextual data, and is falling sharply, the trader may decide to beginselling his items even though the value of the item in the pit 220 hasbeen stable. This allows the trader to anticipate where the market isheaded. Any type of data useful to the trader can be displayed ascontextual data. The contextual data 316 is preferably displayed as ahistorical chart 316 along a vertical axis of values and against ahorizontal axis of time. The historical chart 316 can be displayedagainst any time period, for example, hours, minutes, etc. Thehistorical chart 316 is updated periodically as the data for the item isupdated. If the historical chart 316 includes the current item, as shownin FIG. 3 a, bar lines are displayed in the data to indicate the highand low values of the item for that time period. A volume graph 340 isdisplayed at the bottom-edge of graph. The volume graph illustrates thevolume of transactions in the pit 220, and gives additional informationto the trader regarding the state of the market for the item.

Yet another feature of the user interface of the present invention isthe display of a marker 336. The marker 336 is representative of a valuequantifying metric specified by the trader. The metric determines acurrent action value for the item which identifies the value at whichthe trader should act if the value of the item rises above the actionvalue or falls beneath the action value. For example, in FIG. 3 b, thevalue quantifying metric generates an action value of $68.57. The marker336 is displayed at this value to indicate to the trader the location ofthe action value in relation to the current bids 300 and offers 304. Inthe example of FIG. 3 b, the marker is displayed as an action line 336.As can be seen, the outstanding bids are below the action line 336 andthe current offers are above the action line 336. This indicates to thetrader that no action should be taken.

The value quantifying metric can be an algorithm or formula based uponfactors the trader believes are important in ascertaining the true worthof an item. This metric can be set to reflect value-to-earnings ratio,volatility, volume of orders, percent gain, or any simple or complexdesign. The trader can input a custom metric or can select a metric froma predesignated list of metrics. Metrics may also be purchased from3^(rd) parties and incorporated into the client terminal 104. Thisallows new metrics to be added at any time. The action value displayedby metrics are dynamically determined either by the client terminal 104or the server 200, and updated whenever new data is received regarding acomponent of the metric. Thus, the trader is given the latestinformation to update the trader's action line 336, allowing the traderto make current, informed decisions regarding possible orders. Forexample, in FIG. 3 c, the metric has been updated from the time of FIG.3 b. The action line 336 has moved corresponding to the new action valueof $80.21. As can be seen, displaying the updated action line 336 allowsthe trader to immediately determine that the outstanding offers are nowbelow his action line 336, and therefore that these offers should bepurchased despite the fact that the offers themselves remained at thesame value from the time of FIG. 3 b to the time of FIG. 3 c.

As discussed above, a trader may be connected to several trading pits220 at once. If a trader has multiple connections, the trader can viewthe different pits 220 simultaneously, or if the trader wishes toconcentrate on a single item, the trader can have only one pit 220displayed. Additionally, the trader can disable the different optionsfor a view to suit the trader's preferences, and maximize visibility fora trader's particular terminal 104.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate view of the user interface in accordancewith the present invention. The value/quantity view 420 illustrates themarket for the item using a first axis of values 408 and a second axis412 for quantity. Thus, the location of each offer icon 400 and each bidicon 404 represents the value for the offer or bid and the quantity forwhich the offer or bid is made. Optionally, the action line 336 is alsodisplayed, as well as the contextual data. The alternate view provides adifferent intuitive perspective on the state of the market. By providingalternate views, as shown in FIG. 3 c, the electronic trading system ofthe present invention allows the different preferences of differenttraders to be met. Orders in this view are placed by selecting an offertoken 416 or a bid token 412 and moving the token to a location whichcorresponds to the desired quantity and value. If the trader wishes topurchase immediately, the trader can simply drag a bid token 412 to thelocation directly over any offer token, and a window pops up displayinga bid order with value and quantity equal to that of the offer token. Ifthe trader wishes to sell immediately, the trader can simply drag anoffer token 416 to the location directly over any bid token, and awindow pops up displaying an offer order with value and quantity equalto that of the bid token. The trader can then execute the transaction.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment of the userinterface in accordance with the present invention. The client terminal104, through data received from the transaction server 200, displays 500at least one outstanding bid icon corresponding to a quantity and valueof the bid. The client terminal 104 also displays 504 at least oneoutstanding offer icon corresponding to a quantity and value of anoffer. Thus, by displaying at least one outstanding bid and offer icon,the “book” is opened and traders viewing the client terminal can readilyspot trends in supply and demand for an item and quickly anticipate themarket.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a method of generating an order iconin accordance with the priority view 312 of the present invention.First, the client terminal 104 receives 600 the order type. The ordercan be either a bid or an offer. The trader specifies the type byselecting an offer or bid token to place the order, or by manuallyindicating the order type on the task bar. Second, the client terminal104 receives 604 a quantity specified for the order. The quantity, asdescribed above, is specified by the trader either by entering thenumber directly into the order task bar or by adjusting the size of theorder token. In an embodiment where the order information is enteredinto the taskbar, an order icon will be generated 608 whose verticalsize matches the quantity specified after the order has been processedby the server 200. The client terminal 104 then receives 612 a value forthe order. Again, the trader can specify the value by entering theinformation into the taskbar or can drag the order token to the locationcorresponding to the value. Finally, the client terminal 104 displays614 an order confirmation window displaying the value, quantity, andexpiration information. The trader can modify the order in this windowand then must either cancel the order by closing the window or pressingthe cancel button or submit it by pressing the OK button. The clientterminal 104 which receives the value and quantity and order typeinformation transmits 616 the information to the server 200. The server200 then processes the order information, and updates the order table.

Once the server 200 transmits updated order information to a clientterminal 104, the client terminal 104, in the priority view, determines618 whether a slot is open adjacent an existing order which has a lowervalue, if the order is a bid, or a higher value, if the order is anoffer. In the priority view 312, the horizontal axis is divided intoslots, each slot having a width equal to an order icon 300, 304 and eachslot separated by a standard set-off unit. Incoming orders are sorted bythe value of the order. For offers, the offers with the lowest valuesare positioned closest to the axis of values 332, and for bids, the bidswith the highest values are positioned closest to the axis of values332. When a new order is received, the client terminal 104 re-sorts theoutstanding orders and places the order icons 300, 304 in theappropriate positions. If a new order is equal to an existing order ofthe same type, the order is stacked onto the existing order. FIG. 6illustrates a more detailed methodology of the sorting mechanism, usingthe example of placing a new bid. However, the methodology is equallyapplicable to placing a new offer.

A new bid is designated for the slot adjacent an existing bid which hasthe least value of the set of existing bids having values greater thanthe value of the new bid. The client terminal 104 determines 618 whetherthis determined slot has an existing bid within it. If it does not, theicon is placed 636 at the determined slot. If the slot does contain anexisting bid, the client terminal 104 determines 620 whether theexisting bid has a value less than the requested bid. All existing bidsthat have values less than the requested bid are moved 640 to theadjacent slot positioned away from the axis of values 332. In theexample of FIG. 3 a, the adjacent slot would be a slot positioned to theleft. All other bids having values less than the requested bid areshifted 640 correspondingly. If the client terminal determines 624 thatthe existing bid has a value equal to the existing bid, the requestedbid is stacked 632 below the existing bid or bids, away from thehorizontal separation between bids and offers as described above. If theclient terminal 104 determines 628 that the existing bid is greater thanthe requested bid, a new slot is determined 628 for the requested bid,and the process is repeated.

As shown in FIG. 7, upon receiving new bid information, the transactionserver 200 determines 700 whether there is an existing offer in theorder table having a value less than or equal to the requested bid. Ifthere is not, the new bid is added to the table, and the informationregarding the new bid is sent 702 to the client terminals 104 fordisplay. If there is an existing offer whose value is less than or equalto the requested bid, i.e., if the new bid is the highest value bidoutstanding, the server 200 determines 704 whether the existing offerhas a quantity which is less than the quantity represented by the bid.If the offer does have a quantity less than the bid, the server removes706 the offer from the order table and adds a new bid to the order tablewith the quantity reduced by the quantity of the offer removed.

The server 200 records 720 a trade between the trader submitting the newbid and the trader submitting the removed offer, at a value equal to theoffer value and a quantity equal to the offer quantity. All of theoutstanding client terminals 104 are sent the information regarding thetrade. The client terminals 104 then remove the existing offer icon andadd a bid icon which has a size corresponding to the difference inquantities between the existing offer icon and the requested bid icon.The transaction server 200 determines 700 again whether there is anotherexisting offer in the order table having a value less than or equal tothe requested bid to determine if another transaction can be made withthe quantity remaining in the bid.

The server 200 also determines 708 whether the offer has a quantitygreater than the quantity of the requested bid. If it does, the quantityof the offer is reduced 716 by the quantity of the bid, and the updatedoffer information is sent 717 to the client terminals 104 for display. Atrade is recorded 720 between the trader submitting the new bid and thetrader who submitted the offer at a value equal to the offer value and aquantity equal to the bid quantity. All of the outstanding clientterminals 104 are sent the information regarding the trade and updatethe user interface displays accordingly.

If the quantities of the bid and offer are equal, the offer is removed712 from the table and the transaction is complete. A trade is recorded720 between the trader submitting the new bid and the trader whosubmitted the offer at a value equal to the offer value and a quantityequal to the bid quantity. All of the outstanding client terminals 104are sent the information regarding the trade, and update the userinterface displays accordingly.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the value/quantity view, the client terminal 104receives 800 a value, receives 804 a quantity, and receives 806 an ordertype for a new order. A confirmation window is displayed 807, and, uponconfirmation of the order, the order information is transmitted to theserver 200. Again, this may occur responsive to the trader entering inthe information directly or dragging an order token to the properlocation and after confirming the order. The server 200 receives theorder information, updates the order table, and sends the updatedinformation to the client terminals 104. The client terminals 104display a new order icon at a location corresponding to the value andquantity of the order with respect to the axis of quantities and axis ofvalues. If the new order is an offer, and there is an existing bid for avalue higher than or equal to the value of the offer, a transaction iscompleted, and a new offer or a modified bid token is displayedresponsive to the quantities that the original offer and bid iconsrepresented.

FIG. 9 illustrates a trading pit view 900 called the pit panel view 900,in accordance with the present invention. The pit panel view 900provides a visual interface to other members of the pit 220. All userswho are currently registered to the pit 220 are displayed in the pitpanel 900. This is critical information to a trader regarding theactivity of the pit 220. If the pit 220 is crowded, the trader canexpect volatility in trading. If the pit 220 is empty, the trader canexpect light trading and relatively stable values for the item.

The pit panel 900 displays trader icons 912, observer icons 904, andfloor broker icons 908. Observers are users who are registered to thepit 220 but who are not actively trading and floor brokers areindividuals who have expertise on a pit's item and traders, and whoassist traders in executing unusual trades, negotiating a deal withmultiple traders, or providing history and information on traders toothers. As the observers do not trade for themselves, their icons 904are placed on the outside of the pit icon 916. Floor brokers who do nottrade also have their icons 908 placed on the outside of the pit icon916.

The trader icons 912 are displayed on the pit icon 916. The pit icon 916is preferably displayed as a series of concentric polygons, where eachpolygon represents an activity level or levels. Traders who are moreactive are placed closer to the center of the pit icon 916. The mostactive trader, in the example of FIG. 9, trader 912(1), is placed in thecenter of the pit icon 916. In a preferred embodiment, each polygonrepresents a range of activity levels. For example, the innermostpolygon contains the traders with the second through ninth highestactivity levels. The next polygon contains the traders having the tenththrough twenty-sixth highest activity levels, and so forth. By groupingtraders into activity ranges, and thus shifting a trader's icon out of apolygon only in response to the trader's activity level shifting out ofthe range represented by the polygon, icon changes and consequentflicker in the display of the pit icon 916 are minimized. However, atrader is able to easily ascertain who the active traders in a pit 220are and how active the traders are by noting the relative locations ofthe trader icons 912 in the pit icon 916.

Each trader icon 912 has order indicators 913 to show the quantity oforders a trader has outstanding. Preferably, there are separateindicators 913 for bids and offers, each showing the volume ofoutstanding bids or offers the trader currently has placed. Other orderindicators 913 may be optionally displayed, for example, indicating thesum of all quantities of orders or the volume of orders entered over aspecified period of time. Selecting a trader's icon 912 will alsohighlight the trader's orders on the priority view, value/quantity view,and other views provided in the system that display orders and which canall be displayed concurrently. Double clicking on a trader icon 912generates a communication window as shown in FIG. 11 which allows thetrader to send an email message 1108, send an instant message 1104 aspart of a text chat session, communicate by voice over the networkconnection 1112, or set up a later telephone call or other optionalcommunication to the selected other trader. Thus, the pit panel 900provides a sense of community in the pit 220 by visual representinguseful information, and provides additional information to the traderwhich the trader can use in anticipating the market.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment ofgenerating and placing a trader icon in accordance with the presentinvention. First, a trading pit icon 916 is displayed 1000. Next, theclient 104 determines 1004 whether a predetermined period of time haspassed. The pit panel data is updated periodically, and the client 104waits for that amount of time before re-generating the display with thenew data. If the server 200 determines 1004 that the predeterminedperiod has expired, a first trader icon is selected 1008. The client 104determines 1010 whether the trader is still connected to the server 200from the data provided by the server 200. If the trader is not, thetrader icon 912 for the trader is removed 1011, and the client 104determines 1020 whether there are more traders. If the trader is stillconnected, an activity level is determined 1012 for the trader. Activitylevels are determined as a combination of the volume of outstandingorders, the value of outstanding orders, recent activity, or othermeasures which determine how active a trader has been. Once the activitylevel has been determined, the client 104 displays 1016 the icon 912 forthe trader at the location corresponding to the activity level. In anembodiment where order indicators 913 are displayed, the orderindicators 913 are updated to include the latest order data. In thepreferred embodiment, as discussed above, the pit icon 916 is comprisedof concentric polygons or rings, the traders are ordered by activitylevels, and each polygon represents a range of activity level orders.After the activity level of a trader is determined, the traders arereordered responsive to their activity levels, and the trader icon 912for each the trader is placed in the polygon designated for the order ofthe trader. The client 104 determines 1020 if there are more traders. Ifthere are not, the client 104 determines 1024 if there are bystandersand, if there are, selects 1028 the first bystander icon 904, 908 anddetermines 1032 whether the bystander is connected using data that isprovided by the server 200. If the bystander is not connected, thebystander icon is removed 1040. If the bystander is connected, theclient 104 determines 1036 whether there are more bystanders. If thereare not, the client 104 returns to the step of determining 1004 whethera predetermined time period has ended, as the pit panel 900 view hasbeen updated to reflect the current users and their current activitylevels.

FIG. 12 is an embodiment of a graphical user interface 1200 forsemi-fungible trading. In one embodiment, the interface 1200 displaysmultiple windows designed for the Microsoft Corp. Windows™ operatingsystem, although any operating system can be used in accordance with thepresent invention. A semi-fungible good window 1204 displays a pluralityof book axes 1208. A book axis 1208 is an axis that displays orders fora semi-fungible good. An order may be an offer or bid for asemi-fungible good. In addition to straight orders, contingency ordersmay also be placed having conditions that govern the ultimatedisposition of the transaction. In the example of FIG. 12, the interface1200 displays five book axes 1208 (PWA1-PWA5) in the semi-fungible goodwindow 1204. Although five are displayed, the interface 1200 may displaymore or fewer book axes 1208 in a single window 1204, as shown in FIG.13. In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the interface 1200 displays a subsetof all book axes 1208 in one window and provides the ability to viewadditional book axes 1208 through the use of a horizontal and/orvertical scroll bar 1216. The interface 1200 preferably displays a titlefor the semi-fungible good window 1204 that indicates the class ofsemi-fungible goods being traded. For example, the goods being tradedcould be power futures, and therefore the interface 1200 would displaythe title of the window to indicate that the book axes 1208 beingdisplayed were different power futures. The interface 1200 may generatea title from user input in response to a query for a name, or theinterface 1200 may retrieve title information from a previously storedfile, or the interface 1200 may generate a title automatically based onthe semi-fungible goods selected.

As discussed above, semi-fungible goods are goods that have a valuerelationship, but each good varies from the other goods based on one ormore variables. Typically variables include quantity, qualityvariations, delivery date, expiration date, delivery points, guarantor,contract variable, length of contract, and the life of the product Thislist of possible variables is exemplary and not exhaustive. Examples ofsemi-fungible goods and associated variables are listed in Table A.TABLE A Semi-Fungible Good Variables Options strike, exercise rules,time to expiration, and underlying contract Fixed Income yield curve,time to maturity, quality of issuer, name Product of issuer, interestpayments or coupons, or other contractual differences Cash deliverypoints, quality variation of goods, time of Commodities delivery, andsimilar goods that have substitution properties for the users. Futurestime to contract expiration, delivery dates, quality variation of goods,related or similar contracts, and quantity of goods in contract. Foreignexchange swaps, cross-currency rates, time periods for delivery,multiple currencies denominated in single currency Transportationdelivery times, cost of handling, and pick up and delivery pointsServices quality of service, time of service delivery, and name ofservice provider

Thus, options on stocks for company A having a variation in expirationwould be semi-fungible goods, for example.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12, the interface 1200 displays orders asorder icons 1220. The order icons 1220 represent either a bid or anoffer. However, in some embodiments, such as an auction embodiment, onlybids or only offers are displayed. In a preferred embodiment, theinterface 1200 displays bid icons 1220 in different colors from theoffer icons 1220 to allow the trader to easily distinguish between thetypes of orders. Alternatively, the interface 1200 may display the icons1220 for bids in a different shape from the icons 1220 for offers, orwith some other visually distinguishing characteristic. Additionally,the interface 1200 may display contingency orders with a visuallydistinguishing characteristic to differentiate the contingency ordersfrom straight orders. Moreover, by user preference, any characteristicof an order can be used to visually differentiate orders. Thedistinguishing characteristic may be automatically generated by theinterface 1200 or selected by the trader. The difference in pricesbetween the bids and offers for a semi-fungible good leads to a naturalseparation, or spread, between the bids and offers. The interface 1200preferably displays the spread area 1228 in a color that is differentthan the bid and offer icon color. In a preferred embodiment, theinterface 1200 selects a bright color to highlight the spread area 1228to the trader, as the different spreads can be the most valuableinformation conveyed by the interface 1200. Other methods ofhighlighting the spread may also be used, for example, cross-hatchingthe area 1228 between the highest bid and lowest offer, or placing a“spread” icon in the area

The interface 1200 preferably correlates the book axes 1208 to asemi-fungible good value axis 1212. The interface 1200 uses the valueaxis 1212 to represent the value for each of the orders for all of thebook axes 1208. For example, if the interface 1200 uses the value axis1212 to represent price, then the location of an order icon 1220relative to the value axis represents the price of the order. Thus, bydisplaying the orders for different semi-fungible goods on a singlescreen, a trader can quickly examine the books or markets forsemi-fungible goods and make trading decisions quickly and effectively.For example, if the window 1204 represented the entire number ofsemi-fungible goods being traded, and the value axis 1212 representedprice, then the trader can see that the good PWA5 is trading at thelowest price of the 5 different semi-fungible goods and PWA3 is tradingat the highest price. The trader can also see that good 5 has a highnumber of orders of the different semi-fungible goods, which indicatesthat the market for good 5 is very active. Thus, the present inventionprovides an easy and efficient method for trading in semi-fungible goodsand, for non-traders using the interface 1200 of the present invention,the interface 1200 also serves as a vehicle for displaying significantmarket information.

In a further embodiment, the user interface 1200 communicates the size(i.e. the number of contracts or shares represented) of orders to thetraders through a geometric dimension of the order icon 1220. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the interface 1200 adjusts thehorizontal dimension of the icons 1220 to provide the size information.However, vertical or other geometric dimensions could also be used. In asemi-fungible embodiment, the sizes displayed by the dimensions of theicons 1220 communicates relative size information for each book axis1208. Thus, if a trader views PWA4, the trader will instantly know thatthe top offer has the smallest size for that book axis 1208 and thefifth bid from the bottom has the largest size for that book axis 1208.Additionally, the trader can infer information about the relative sizesfor all of the offers and all of the bids for a book axis 1208. Thetrader, looking at the first book axis, PWA1, will know that far morequantities are represented by offers than by bids. However, in thepreferred embodiment, the size of an icon 1220 in book axis PWA1 doesnot relate to the size of an icon 1220 in book axis PWA2. Thisindependence helps enable the interface 1200 display multiple book axeson one screen. If the quantities were absolute instead of being relativeacross the book axes, then one high quantity order in a single book axis1208 might dominate the screen, limiting the ability of the interface1200 to display other book axes 1208.

In one embodiment, the value axis 1212 provides units that correlate thevalue of different semi-fungible goods. For example, in FIG. 12, thevalue axis 1212 is in terms of implied volatility. As discussed above,options have several variables which make them semi-fungible instead offungible goods. However, one unifying characteristic of options is thattheir value can be expressed in implied volatility. If company A has anoption that has a strike price of $150.00 and the stock is currentlytrading at $100.00 per share, the volatility of the option will providea basis for determining the value of that option. Volatility has apositive correlation to the value of the option. That is, the higher thevolatility of an option, the higher its value will be, with all otherfactors being equal. Conversely, the lower the volatility, the lower thevalue of the option.

In the Black-Scholes model, for a stock without dividends, interestrates, strike price, stock price, and time to expiration provide four offive factors in assessing the value of an option. The other factor isimplied volatility. Thus, if the first four factors are known, the otherfactor, implied volatility is determined to assess the value of anoption. In the example of FIG. 12, the different book axes 1208 displayorders for different options for the same company. The orders aredisplayed on a scale relating to their implied volatility. Thus, theoptions in the PWA3 column are trading with the highest impliedvolatility and the options in PWA1 and PWA5 are trading at the lowestimplied volatility. Therefore, regardless of strike price, expirationdate, or other factors, the options in PWA3 are the most theoreticallyovervalued relative to the other options series represented. Inaccordance with the present invention, the interface 1200 enablestraders to input an algorithm such as the Cox-Ross model orBlack-Scholes model to generate a value axis 1212 that relates the valueof semi-fungible goods to each other. Other algorithms may be displayedby the interface 1200 for selection by the user or the user may entertheir own custom algorithms for relating the different semi-fungiblegoods. For example, in one embodiment, a semifungible good may beSuperBowl™ seats, and the value of a seat displayed by the value axis1212 is determined relative to the distance of the seat from the 50 yardline and the vertical distance of the seat in terms of rows, from thefield of play. Thus, the value axis 1212 of the present inventionprovides information regarding the value of the seat beyond the askingprice. Therefore, as can be seen in FIG. 12, a trader can easily tradesemi-fungible goods using this embodiment of the present invention byviewing all or a subset of all of the semi-fungible goods in onedisplay, and then viewing the semi-fungible goods in terns of theirrelative value, using a trader-defined algorithm to define that value.Thus, the present invention provides an entirely new method for tradingin semi-fungible goods not available to traders using conventionalsystems.

In a further embodiment, the interface 1200 displays an action line 1224that indicates a value which a trader would like to use as a referencein order to determine where the trader may be interested in effectingtrades. The action line 1224 can be derived from a user providedalgorithm or from any other source. The action line 1224 can begenerated using manually entered values, market data, or from any otherdata feed. The interface maps the action line on the display 1200 fromthe fixed or inputted data according to the algorithm which generatesthe values for the action line 1224. The interface 1200 can configurethe color, size, and other physical features to suit the trader's taste.Additionally, the interface 1200 can provide a floating action line 1224whose position depends on an algorithm provided by the trader. Thus, thetrader can provide an action line whose position is dependant on thedaily interest rate, and, in this example, each day the position of theaction line 1224 would change. In such an embodiment, the interface 1200itself may access the publicly available interest rate information andautomatically reposition the action line 1224, or the trader may inputthe new interest rate each day, upon prompting by the interface 1200 oron his or her own volition. The action line may be straight on a displaywith a common value axis 1212; however if the action line 1224represents a variable other than that being used for the value axis1212, then the action line 1224 may be discontinuous. For example, ifthe value axis 1212 has units in terms of price, and the action line1224 is in terms of implied volatility, then the action line 1224 foreach book axis 1208 will be in a different position.

In an alternate embodiment, a user can enter markers 1256 or “dummyorders” to graphical represent data points of interest to the trader. Anaudio or visual alert may be generated, by user defined preference, whenan actual trade occurs at the value of the marker 1256. For example, ifa user wanted to place a marker 1256 to alert the user when a good issold at $5.00, the user would place a marker 1256 at the correspondinglocation at the book axis 1208 representing the good of interest. When atrade occurs for that good at $5.00, the trader is alerted. As shown inFIG. 12, the interface 1200 displays the marker 1256 with a visuallydistinct characteristic from live orders.

In one embodiment, a method for distinguishing overlapping orders at thesame price or value is provided. In this embodiment, if multiple ordershave the same value, a single order icon 1232 is displayed having ageometric dimension representing the sum of the quantities for themultiple orders and an indication that the icon represents multipleorders. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 12, the interface 1200displays order icon 1232 having a length equal to the quantities of themultiple orders it comprises. Additionally, the interface 1200 displaysorder icon 1232 with dashed lines dividing the order icon 1232 intosegments, where each segment represents a different order. Thus, in thisembodiment, a trader can view order icon 1232 and immediately know thatthere are three orders for the specified value and, by viewing thelength of the icon 1232, know the quantities the orders represent. In apreferred embodiment, the interface 1200 positions orders from largestto smallest going from left to right in a vertically aligned book axis1208. Of course, other methods of representing the presence of multipleorders at the same value may also be used in accordance with the presentinvention.

In a further embodiment, a method for displaying order icons 1220 thatare close in value or price is provided. In this embodiment, if two ormore order icons 1220 are close in value, the icons 1220 are overlappedand differentiated in their look from other order icons 1220 to let thetrader know that multiple orders exist close in value. In oneembodiment, the orders as semi-transparent, and areas of overlap appearwith greater color saturation. For each overlap, there would be agreater increase in color saturation. In the example of FIG. 12, theinterface 1200 displays multiple order icon 1236 having “crawling ants”demarcating the different order icons 1220 that are represented in thethree-order block. The interface 1200 preferably creates dashed lines ina different color than the order icon 1220 itself around the edge of theicons 1220. Then, the interface 1200 overlays one icon 1220 over anothericon 1220 to reveal both icons 1220. In a preferred embodiment, theinterface 1200 overlays a shorter icon 1220 over a larger icon 1220because this arrangement allows the most area for both icons 1220 to beseen. If there are more than two icons 1220 overlapping, the interface1200 preferably alternates the order in which the icons 1220 areoverlapped. For example, in FIG. 12, the first icon 1220 is in thebackground, the second icon 1220 is in the foreground, and the thirdicon 1220 is also in the background. Alternating the arrangement aids inheightening the visibility of the different icons 1220. In an anotherembodiment, the overlapping orders are displayed overlapping each other,but the color of the overlapping order icons 1220 will change to asharply differentiated color or a color chosen by the user.Alternatively, the interface 1200 flashes the overlapping icons 1220 todistinguish the overlapping icons 1220 from non-overlapping icons 1220.

Of course, if too many orders overlapped, the interface 1200 preferablychanges the scale of the value axis 1212 to a finer granularity todisplay more space between the icons 1220. However, the scale of thevalue axis 1212 affects the display of all of the book axes 1208, andtherefore the interface 1200 will not change the scale without firstdetermining the effects of changing the scale on the other book axes1208. In one embodiment, the interface 1200 generates the scale of thevalue axis 1212 to accommodate the minimum scale necessary to displaythe book axes 1208 with the greatest value ranges, i.e., the highestoffer over all book axes 1208 and the lowest bid over all book axes 1208would be used to calculate the scale of the value axis 1212. In anotherembodiment, the interface 1200 displays a scale having a givenpercentage of points above and below the mean value for the mid point ofall markets for all book axes 1208. A scroll bar 1216 would be used toview orders which are above or below the default field of view. In oneembodiment, the interface 1200 continuously refreshes the scale as theorder arrangement on book axes 1208 changes. In an alternate embodiment,the interface 1200 freezes the scale at the initial values displayedwhen the interface 1200 is initiated or refreshed. In yet anotherembodiment, the user can set a given time period for the value scale tobe redrawn based on the above mentioned methods.

In an alternate embodiment, orders close in value are stacked, as shownby stacked order icon 1240. In this embodiment, orders that overlap arestacked together, with the common boundary line in preferably adifferent color than the default color used for the edges of the ordericons 1240. In this embodiment, the point on the right end of the icon1240 that points to the value axis is replaced by a straight line todistinguish that the edge of the icon 1240 does not correlate to thevalue scale. In a further embodiment, the interface 1200 displays acontrasting vertical line to bisect the order icons 1240 and add morecontrast

In another embodiment, the interface 1200 displays the best bids andoffers for each book axis 1208 correlating to the value axis 1212.However, the interface 1200 displays all of the other order icons 1220in a stacked formation that does not correlate to the value axis 1212.However, the information regarding the spread and the quantities of theorders are still preserved in this embodiment. The order icons 1220 maybe stacked a fixed space apart to best fit the available space in thebook axis 1208. This method allows more orders to be displayed andprovides visual information on the number of orders in each book axis1208, providing important depth of market information. Alternatively,the spacing between the icons 1220 may be determined as a function ofthe relative value of the orders 1220. For example, orders closer invalue to the best order may be closer in space to the best order. Thespacing would be proportional to the relative difference in value of thegiven orders.

In another embodiment, the interface 1200 provides flip-up text boxes1244 that display additional detail regarding an order. For example, theflip-up text box 1244 in FIG. 12 displays name of the good, price, bidask indicator plus size information, the time the order was placed (notshown), and trader name. Any or all of this information can be displayedin a flip-up text box 1244. The flip-up text box 1244 thus supplementsthe intuitive feel generated by the interface 1200 of the presentinvention with precise details the trader will need when the trader isdeciding whether to make a trade. The flip-up text box 1244 can also beused to provide information for overlapping order icons 1232, forexample, by indicating the precise value for each of the overlappedorders, a summation value for all overlapping orders, and otherinformation as described above. Alternatively, the flip-up text box 1244displays information only regarding the segment of the multiple ordericon 1232 over which the mouse or cursor is placed. In a preferredembodiment, the interface 1200 allows users to determine whatinformation appears in the flip-up text box 1244 to customize theinterface 1200 to the user's preferences. Alternatively, a mouse clickcan also bring up a text box window displaying the above-describedinformation. In an embodiment utilizing a mouse operation to display theinformation in a text box window, the information for either anindividual order displayed as one segment of a multiple order icon 1232,or for the entire order, can be displayed by using either a right orleft mouse click, a keyboard command, or another utilization action.

In one embodiment, the interface 1200 provides a panel view 1248 todisplay more detail regarding a selected book axis 1208. In thisembodiment, a user may select a book axis 1208 using a mouse or otherinput device to view more or different information regarding the bookfor the particular semi-fungible good represented by the book axis 1208.Then, the interface 1200 displays or generates a view of the book axis1208 showing additional information. In the example of FIG. 12, the bookaxis 1208 in the panel view 1248 is displayed in terms of price insteadof implied volatility. Thus, by simply selecting one of the plurality ofbook axes 1208 displayed in the main view, the trader can immediatelyview the orders of a selected book axis 1208 in terms of a differentunit. In one embodiment, the trader selects the parameters of the panelview 1248, for example, units, size and other information. A last tradeindicator 1260 is displayed to indicate the value at which the lasttrade occurred.

In FIG. 13, an embodiment of the interface 1200 is shown in which alarge plurality of book axes 1208 are displayed in a single view. Ascroll bar 1216 is provided to display additional book axes 1208.However, the main screen shows a large number of book axes 1208 to allowa trader to view information regarding a large number of semi-fungiblegoods simultaneously. In this embodiment, the book axis 1208 itself isrendered as a thin vertical (or horizontal) line, and the orders aredisplayed as visual indicators 1316, such as hatch marks, on the line1208. As in the embodiment of FIG. 12, in this embodiment, the length ofthe visual indicators 1316 also corresponds to the quantity of a givenorder. Thus, the relative value and quantity information for each orderis provided in the embodiment of FIG. 13. This embodiment provides theadvantage of viewing the information regarding a large number ofsemi-fungible goods. For example, in FIG. 13, the trader can view thebid-ask spread 1228 as it is distributed over the semi-fungible goods toimmediately understand the values at which the different goods are beingtraded. Additionally, the number of orders pending in the markets isimmediately understood. Thus, as the interface 1200 can display theentire set or a large majority of the semi-fungible goods in one screen,the trader has all of the information that he or she requires foreffective and informed trading of the semi-fungible goods.

In this embodiment, the panel view 1248 is more important as it is moredifficult to view price, value, and quantity information in a display ofso many book axes 1208. However, by simply selecting the axis 1208 forwhich the trader has interest, the trader can view all of the details inthe panel view 1248. In a preferred embodiment, the interface 1200displays the spread 1228 in a different color to highlight the spread1228 across the different book axes 1208. Also, the book axes 1208themselves are preferably displayed in different colors to allow thetrader to easily distinguish the axes 1208. An action line 1224 is alsoprovided as discussed above. Additionally, the bid area, i.e., the areaof the book axis below the spread is preferably displayed in a differentcolor than the offer area to also enable the trader to easilydistinguish and intuitively understand the market for the orders of thesemi-fungible goods.

In one embodiment, an order entry box 1300 is displayed in a panel view1248 to provide the trader with an easy means of placing an order. Inthis embodiment, the trader selects a bid or offer icon, shown in thepanel view as order entry icons 1304, and then places the icon 1304along the axis 1308 at the desired value. The trader can then adjust thelength of the icon 1304 to the desired quantity. In a preferredembodiment, as the trader is adjusting the order entry icon 1304, theprecise values or quantities are displayed in the order entry box 1300,to allow the trader to know when the icon has reached the appropriatelocation or size. Then, once the bid or offer is acceptable, the tradermay click on the icon 1304 or click on the “Place” button 1312 in theorder entry box 1300 to place the order. The interface 1200 thendisplays the order in the book axis 1208. The methods for generating theorder and displaying the order are described above.

FIG. 14 is an expanded view of one embodiment of an order entry bookwindow 1300. In this embodiment, the interface 1200 displays bid oroffer entry icons 1220 within size adjusting windows 1400. Thus, toadjust the size of an order to be entered, a trader would select theorder entry icon 1304 with a mouse or other input device and extend thelength of the icon 1304 until the desired quantity is represented. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 14, a scale is provided above or below theadjusting window 1400 to enable the trader to quickly adjust the icon1304 to the correct size. Additionally, more precise size scrollingbuttons 1404 are provided to allow for a more precise adjustment of thelength of the icon 1304. Once the size is acceptable, the trader selectsthe entry icon 1304 and drags it to the appropriate position in thepanel view 1248. In one embodiment, after the order is placed, the orderremains pending, and is displayed with some visually distinguishingcharacteristic from accepted orders. For example, in FIG. 14, a pendingorder is displayed with dashed lines 1408 to indicate to the trader thatthe order has not yet been placed. Alternatively, the pending ordercould be displayed in a different color, or in bold, or the like. Then,the trader can adjust the location using precise scrolling buttons (notshown) or other means of accurately placing the order at the desiredprice. Once the icon 1304 is at the desired price location andrepresents the desired quantity, the trader can use a right mouse buttonor any other pre-defined key to request that the order be entered. Inone embodiment, a confirmation window is then displayed, and the tradercan then confirm that the order should be entered.

The panel view 1248 may also be used to adjust an existing order. Inthis embodiment, the trader will select an order to be modified using apredefined key, button, or mouse action. Then, the interface 1200 willverify that the selected order was previously placed by the traderrequesting modification, and the selected order will become a pendingorder, and displayed in a similar format as a pending order. Theinformation of the order will populate an order entry text window 1300.The user can modify the elements of the order in the text box 1300. Theuser will have the option of canceling the pending order with a buttonclick operation [button not shown in diagram] or effectuating themodification of the order by hitting an order placement button. If theuser hits the cancellation button, the order icon 1220 will return toits original visual representation and the system will not modify theorder. If the user hits the order placement button, the system willfirst cancel the existing order and once it has determined that theorder has been cancelled, it will enter a new order with the newparameters entered by the user. In one embodiment, a pending order willautomatically be cancelled, or “timed out”, if no action is taken withina given, user defined amount of time. At that point, the trader cancancel the order, or adjust a parameter of the order such as its priceor quantity.

To complete a transaction by selecting a bid or offer icon 1220, thetrader selects the existing order icon 1220 and a window is displayed toplace a bid or offer at a matching price for a matching quantity as aselected bid or offer. Thus, if an existing order is a bid for 20 unitsat $10.00 a unit, a window would be displayed allowing the trader toenter an offer for 20 units at $10.00 a unit. By selecting a confirmoption, the order is entered.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment in which the order entry book window1300 allows a trader to sum existing orders. For example, if a traderwanted to see the total quantity of the highest four bids in FIG. 15,the trader would select the summing function from a menu or by clickingon the appropriate icon, and then select the orders the trader wouldlike summed. In one embodiment, the interface 1200 displays a summationicon overlaying a selected order to allow the trader to track whichorders are being summed. When the summation tool is activated with abutton or mouse operation, a summation text window 1500 will appear. Inone embodiment, this window 1500 has text fields for total quantity,average price, highest bid [or offer], lowest bid [or offer], and totalprice. The user could select a value on the scale of panel view 1248 andthe summation text window 1500 populates with the associated valuesrepresenting the summation of values for all orders between those at orclosest to the selected value to the best bid or offer. For example, inFIG. 15, if the user tagged the summation device at “d”, the summationwindow 1500 would populate with the following values: Box 1504 wouldrepresent the average price a trader would pay to fill all the ordersfrom “d” to “a”. That is, Box 1504=[(price of a)×(volume of a)+(price ofb)×(volume of b)+(price of c)×(volume of c)+(price of d)×(volume ofd)]/(volume a+volume b+volume c+volume d). Box 1508 would represent thesum of the volume of orders a, b, c and d. Box 1516 would represent theprice of order d. Box 1512 would represent the price of order a.Alternatively, the user can enter a value for either volume or averageprice and then click a button, utilize a mouse operation or some othermethod of actuation to activate the summation tool to populate theremaining fields. In one embodiment, an icon would be generated on thebook axis window in question representing the associated average valuequantity.

In another embodiment, orders can be summed over a range of prices notincluding the best bid or offer. In this embodiment, the user couldenable the function by clicking a button and then populate the highorder price level using a right mouse click and the low order pricelevel using a left mouse click at the desired level along the value axis1212. The user would then hit a calculate button to populate the averageprice and volume numbers. The same operation could be used to set theaverage price or total volume where the summation tool would populatethe window 1500 with the highest and lowest bid or offer values whichwould correspond. The summation tool can be used to calculate valuesother than price when orders are measured across another value scale.

Referring back to FIG. 12, in a further embodiment, an array of filterboxes 1252 are displayed which, when highlighted, allow the trader todifferentiate between semi-fungible orders based on parameters unique togiven orders or order books. For example, in a preferred embodiment, thetrader can specify that a filter box 1252 be highlighted for all bookaxes 1208 where the lowest (the “best”) offer is for more than a givennumber of contracts. The trader will specify the given number to beequal to some number of contracts that the trader wishes to sell. Then,the trader merely has to look at the filter boxes 1252 for all of thedifferent book axes 1208 to immediately know when the trader can sellhis contracts. In another embodiment, the trader can request theinterface 1200 to highlight all book axes 1208 where a given trader hasentered an order. Thus, a trader may use this feature to locate ordersof other traders with which the trader has a line of credit, or simplyto track the book axes 1208 with which the trader himself or herself hasplaced an order. Thus, the filters 1252 provide an additional means ofsimplifying the information inherent in trading semi-fungible ornon-fungible goods.

Although the above description has been given in terms of displayingbids and offers for semi-fungible goods, the present invention may applyequally to displaying non-fungible goods. Thus, if a trader is tradingin several different non-fungible goods, the interface 1200 can displaythe book axes 1208 for the different non-fungible goods in a similarmanner as described above. In this embodiment, however, the value axis1212 will typically display price, as there may be no other common basiswith which to relate the non-fungible goods, although any common valuecould be used. Thus, in this embodiment, the trader can track all of thegoods the trader is trading and realize the benefits described above.Additionally, although the above description has focused on traders' useof the present invention, non-traders who desire information aboutdifferent markets can use the interface 1200 of the present invention tohave the information about the markets effectively and efficientlycommunicated. For example, a stock market analyst may want to focus onthe performance of S&P 500 companies. Accordingly, the analyst mayconfigure the interface 1200 to display book axes 1208 for each of thosecompanies. Then, the analyst can watch trends in the market overall foreach company and in the S&P overall. Pricing, quantity, and spreadinformation is instantly available to the analyst for all of thecompanies, and more information is available in the panel view 1248described above. Filters 1252 and action lines 1224 can be used to alertthe analyst to certain trends, like large sell offs and price swings.Thus, the information communication methodology of the present inventionapplies equally in a non-trading environment as well as a tradingenvironment.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the interface 1200displays only bids or only offers in an auction application. In oneembodiment, one book axis 1208 represents one auction, and the bids forthe auctioned good are displayed as described above. For example, if 50computers are being sold in an auction, a book axis 1208 displays thedifferent bids and represents the quantities of the bids throughdisplaying the width of the icon 1220. Multiple auctions for the sametype of good or for different goods may also be displayed as describedabove. If the goods are different, i.e., non-fungible, the value axis1212 typically represents price. However, if the goods are semi-fungibleor fungible, then the value axis 1212 represents price or anothervariable relating the semi-fungible or fungible goods together. Thus, inaccordance with the present invention, a buyer, seller, or observer canview multiple auctions on a single interface 1200. In a reverse auction,the interface 1200 can display offers without bids to allow a buyer,seller, or observer to watch multiple reverse auctions. The buyer maytrack multiple auctions for which the buyer has a bid, a seller cantrack various auctions in which the seller is selling a good, or anobserver may simply observe the market for different goods to determinewhat the value of a good is. The panel view 1248 may be used to displaymore information about a specific auction, and buyers and sellers canplace bids and offers for a good as described above by selecting on anorder token and adjusting its parameters to match the buyer's orseller's desired values. The foregoing describes in details the featuresand benefits of the present in various embodiments. Those of skill inthe art will appreciate that present invention is capable of variousother implementations that operate in accordance with the foregoingprinciples and teachings. Certainly, the names of the various entitiesmay be changed without impacting their functional operations.Accordingly, this detailed description is not intended to limit thescope of the present invention, which is to be understood by referencethe claims below.

1-48. (canceled)
 49. A method for displaying information to a userregarding an order placed on an electronic trading system where orderscomprise a bid type or an offer type, the method comprising: displayingan order icon on the graphical user interface, the order iconrepresenting at least one order placed by the user; selecting an area ofthe graphical user interface corresponding to the order icon with aninput device; and in response to the selection of the area of thegraphical user interface corresponding to the order icon, displaying awindow comprising information regarding a parameter for the order, andif the order icon represents more than one order placed by the user,then the window comprises information regarding a parameter for each ofthe orders represented by the order icon.
 50. The method of claim 49,wherein the window comprises additional parameters for the order, and ifthe order icon represents more than one order placed by the user, thenthe window comprises information regarding additional parameters foreach of the orders represented by the order icon.
 51. The method ofclaim 49, wherein the step of selecting the area of the graphical userinterface corresponding to the order icon comprises receiving a commandfrom positioning a cursor of the input device over the area of thegraphical user interface corresponding to the order icon.
 52. The methodof claim 49, wherein the step of selecting the area of the graphicaluser interface corresponding to the order icon comprises receiving acommand from clicking on the area of the graphical user interfacecorresponding to the order icon with the input device.
 53. The method ofclaim 49, wherein the step of selecting the area of the graphical userinterface corresponding to the order icon comprises receiving a commandfrom activating a key on a keyboard.
 54. The method of claim 49, whereinthe parameter for the order comprises any of the following: a price, aquantity, a name of the product, and time the order was placed.
 55. Themethod of claim 49, wherein the information displayed in the window iscustomizable.
 56. The method of claim 49, wherein the window isdisplayed adjacent to the area of the graphical user interfacecorresponding to the order icon.
 57. The method of claim 49, wherein theorder icon is associated with a particular price and the ordersrepresented by the order icon are also associated with the particularprice.
 58. The method of claim 49, wherein the window comprises aflip-up box that appears in response to selection of the area of thegraphical user interface corresponding to the order icon.
 59. The methodof claim 49, further comprising: displaying a plurality of bidindicators, each bid indicator corresponding to at least one bid for aquantity of the item, each bid indicator being displayed at a locationalong an axis of prices corresponding to a price associated with the atleast one bid; displaying a plurality of offer indicators, each offerindicator corresponding to at least one offer for a quantity of theitem, each offer indicator being displayed at a location along the axisof prices corresponding to a price associated with the at least oneoffer; and displaying the order icon at a location along the axis ofprices corresponding to a particular price.
 60. A graphical userinterface that displays information to a user regarding an order placedon an electronic trading system where orders comprise a bid type or anoffer type, the graphical user interface comprising: an order iconassociated with at least one order placed by the user; a window that isdisplayed by a selection of an area of the graphical user interfacecorresponding to the order icon with an input device, the windowcomprising information regarding a parameter for the order, and if theorder icon represents more than one order placed by the user, then thewindow comprises information regarding a parameter for each of theorders represented by the order icon.
 61. The graphical user interfaceof claim 60, wherein the window comprises additional parameters for theorder, and if the order icon represents more than one order placed bythe user, then the window comprises information regarding additionalparameters for each of the orders represented by the order icon.
 62. Thegraphical user interface of claim 60, wherein selection of the area ofthe graphical user interface corresponding to the order icon is based onpositioning a cursor of the input device over the area of the graphicaluser interface corresponding to the order icon.
 63. The graphical userinterface of claim 60, wherein selection of the area of the graphicaluser interface corresponding to the order icon is based on receiving acommand from clicking on the area of the graphical user interfacecorresponding to the order icon with the input device.
 64. The graphicaluser interface of claim 60, wherein selection of the area of thegraphical user interface corresponding to the order icon is based onreceiving a command from activating a key of a keyboard.
 65. Thegraphical user interface of claim 60, wherein the parameter for theorder comprises any of the following: a price, a quantity, a name of theproduct, and time the order was placed.
 66. The graphical user interfaceof claim 60, wherein the information displayed in the window iscustomizable.
 67. The graphical user interface of claim 60, wherein thewindow comprises a flip-up box that appears in response to selection ofthe area of the graphical user interface corresponding to the ordericon.
 68. The graphical user interface of claim 60, further comprising:a bid display region that displays a plurality of bid indicators, eachbid indicator corresponding to at least one bid for a quantity of theitem, each bid indicator being displayed at a location along an axis ofprices corresponding to a price associated with the at least one bid;and an offer display region that displays a plurality of offerindicators, each offer indicator corresponding to at least one offer fora quantity of the item, each offer indicator being displayed at alocation along the axis of prices corresponding to a price associatedwith the at least one offer.